Independent participatory media for Iran

More than 900 professors at Iranian universities have issued a statement expressing their support for Science and Technology Minister Reza Faraji-Dana.

The Etemad daily reports that in a letter to Ali Larijani, the head of Parliament, the professors express dismay regarding the actions that a number of MPs have taken against the minister of science.

“We are in awe that MPs who in the past have remained silent regarding all forms of abnormal and irrational decision-making and the desecration of the very institution of the university have now begun deterring action against the rational policies of the minister of science,” the letter stated.

A group of MPs has proposed a plan to the presiding board of Parliament to impeach the minister of science.

Hoajjatollah Darvishpour, an Izzeh representative, earlier told the Tabnak website that there seems to be insufficient reason to impeach the minister of science.

He said the reasons presented basically refer to the recent appointments of university presidents and the use of certain aides.

Darvishpour maintained that the real reason for the impeachment efforts is the ministry’s review of irregularities in the granting of bursaries by the last administration. He claimed they are trying to cover up the past practices.

The general policies of the reformists to open up the university atmosphere and welcome students and professors who were excluded from universities during the eight years of the Ahmadinejad administration’s political cleansing of the higher education system has not sat well with the conservative factions of the Islamic Republic, who are trying to counter it with attacks on the minister of science.